Cracking talent amongst UK's youth

This year’s competition, run by the Intellectual Property Office and Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace & Gromit, was literally out of this world! Entrants had to come up with a space related concept and highlight the intellectual property - a new gadget or product (patents), the visual appearance of said product (designs), a brand or logo to accompany the idea (trade marks) and any other creative elements (copyright) such as a catchy jingle.

The UK winners

Age 4-7 category

Amelia Regulski from Caerphilly and her supersonic ‘Space Suit’, built with flame blasting rocket boosters to guarantee safe space travel. With a specially designed helmet complete with Wallace & Gromit style on/off button, Amelia has covered both style and practicality.

Age 8-11 category

Sydney Davis from Bristol who created the IBIB for brilliance in ballet, on earth and in space. The ‘rocket twist tutu’ with miniature swivelling rockets creates effortless spins and twirls, whilst jet propelled ballet pumps ensures speed is not an issue.

Age 12-16 category

Dom Aly and Eddy Backhouse from Bolton who invented the WG1GYRO to propel Wallace & Gromit into space. With specially designed space suits, a roving WG Buggy complete with logos and ‘the super blaster’, Dom and Eddy have created the complete innovation package.

The worthy winners sought off tough competition from over 4,000 entrants and were each presented with an original trophy created by Nick Park’s Aardman Animation studio. They also received an animation software package and a Wallace & Gromit book signed by Nick Park.

Judges

Tom Lawton, designer and inventor said:

The variety of entries was fabulous and could only be inspired by young minds. Life in space might not be as far away as we think and the entries seem to have relished the theme of this year’s challenge.

Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director at Aardman Animations said:

Wallace and Gromit are old hands at space travel but with so many real life space adventures happening at the moment space continues to inspire everybody. This year’s entrants really reflect that the sky is not the limit!

The competition is part of the Intellectual Property Office’s Cracking Ideas campaign headed by Wallace & Gromit, which aims to encourage innovation among school children.

The 2013-14 fabulous ‘foodie’ competition is running until 30 April 2014.

Notes for editors

Merlin Crossingham is available for interview requests

Any media interested in interviews including speaking to the winners should contact the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on +44 (0) 16 3381 4434

Cracking Ideas is a Government-backed project and uses a combination of lesson plans, activity packs, challenges and dedicated website, to encourage innovation and creativity among children aged 4 - 16 all with links to the UK curriculum

The IPO is within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright

The IPO’s role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy

The IPO operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property to which the United Kingdom is a party